Progression of Hand Movements

Andrew's hand movements have always changed since he turned two. At first he started putting his hands behind his back and everyone at daycare thought he had such good manners when he walked in the hall. It then moved to the front where he held his left hand in his right. Within months he started to wring his hands scraping fingernails across the inside of his right palm causing blisters. Then it changed to where he would pat everything in his environment one or two times and then wring his hands. We were a worried about this but thought that at least he was exploring toys and other things through patting. He loved to pat our trashcan and hear the sound it made and because he loves music he broke his boom box several times by patting it so hard. At Christmas last year he started to clap his hands. My parents were excited about this and I got worried knowing it wasn't a real clap of happiness for him. He would clap his hands sometimes ten times and then wring them tightly. The past few months the clapping has quieted and he isn't able to make quite the sound with his hands that he first had. He now claps his hands and turns them to a wringing position and then pulls them apart on his face which just gets yucky when he is eating or is snotty from throwing a tantrum. We have also noticed that his fingers are starting to get mis-shapen over the past few weeks. He crosses his index finger under his middle finger on both hands while wringing and clapping. And the wringing is constant-all day sometimes right along with teeth grinding. This is the one that kills us! It really grosses me out and he no longer stops when we tell him to.

This past week we learned of some problems with his MDCP program- this is the one that provides the attendant for him. Apparently he now has to have an adult -myself or spouse or grandparent while a provider is here. Which doesn't help me out at all. Not sure what we will do but essentially I have to quit working or find a babysitter quickly. Here we go again!!

We are one step closer to getting our foster/adoption license. What a process it has been. We learned last week of a two year old boy that is available for adoption that has some special medical needs but overall just a little delayed developmentally. We talked with his caseworker and are hopeful that we can get more information on him. He is adorable and we both think he would be a great addition to the family. We have prayed about it and know it's in God's hands if it's meant to be.